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Best Slovenian Female Golfer Pia Babnik At just 20 years old, she was competing in her second Olympic Games. After finishing in 34th place in her 2021 Tokyo debut, she took another big step forward in Paris, finishing in 22nd place. She was even in medal contention after the second day, but the medal slipped from her hands on the second day due to two accidental shots. Nevertheless, the woman from Ljubljana ended her visit to the City of Lights in spectacular fashion, carrying the Slovenian national team’s flag at the closing ceremony together with silver medalist Toni Vodishko.
“I was really surprised. They told me on Sunday morning Janja Garnblatt It feels bad that this honor will fall to me. The Closing Ceremony was definitely better than the Opening Ceremony, even though it took a long time. The flag-raising parade went by quickly, but the speeches dragged on. In the end, we only got to see the spectacle, and among other things, there was a concert and fireworks. It was really fun and worth sticking around until the end,” Pia shared with fresh Olympic memories.
Pia Babnik also proved at the Olympics that she belongs at the top of world golf. Photo by Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP
She qualified as the second alternate ahead of the active players and her performances and results confirmed that she has finally come out of the dead end where she wandered last year due to injuries and various consequences, which also hindered the change of the game. Technique. “All in all, I can say that everything was great. I came to Paris as the 60th player of the tournament, but I managed to make it to the first half. If she had withdrawn from the tournament after half a year due to injury problems last year, she would have retained the direct qualification for the OI. That’s why I am even more happy that I earned the opportunity to appear in Paris with my game, especially in the European Series in June, where I finished three out of the top ten. It’s true that I also had good opportunities to intervene in the medal competition. I had some bad moments, which cost me a higher ranking. That’s it. That’s golf.” The GK Trnovo member has no regrets. Interestingly, she finished in 22nd place together with the world’s number one American player Nelly Kordashe defended her Tokyo gold medal in Paris.
Pia Babnik was eliminated from the Olympic medal race at the National Course on the third day of competition when she needed an eight on the 15th hole. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP
She immediately went back to work
How would you compare the events in Tokyo and Paris during the five rounds? “There were no spectators in Tokyo due to the covid-19 pandemic, but this time it was completely different. There were crowds of spectators watching the tournaments every day and they were very loud, as this is not the typical audience that attends our tournaments around the world. There were mainly golfers, but in Paris they cheered loudly at will, but it still didn’t bother me. If it was too loud, I would just wait a little longer before hitting the ball.” She was also impressed by the easy socializing with the Slovenian athletes, with whom she got along very well, and the role of flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the stadium for France was the icing on the cake.
Pia Babnik was eliminated from the Olympic medal race at the National Course on the third day of competition when she needed an eight on the 15th hole. Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP
Pia Babnik also wants to perform at the next tournament, which will be held in Los Angeles in four years. “Of course, I will try to qualify directly for the tournament and not wait nervously until the last minute to work on it.” Meanwhile, Pia is already in Scotland. Next week (22-25) St. Andrews is the oldest tournament in the world and the last LPGA Elite Series of the season with a prize money of 9 million dollars (8.2 million euros). On Monday, she will play in the qualifiers with the goal of qualifying for the tournament. (“Playing only 18 holes, it’s always a lottery.”) If she does not succeed, she will go to Ireland, where a week later (from August 29 to September 1) she will play a tournament within the framework of the European Series.
Anna Barrack is disappointed
Ana Belac, Slovenia’s second representative in golf at the Olympics, arrived in Paris feeling a bit unwell and was unable to show her full skills on the demanding course. She finished the four-day event in 49th place, out of a field of 60 competitors. “Nothing was out of my control. I was a bit sick and my form wasn’t right, so I leave Paris disappointed with the result. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the Olympic experience. Now I’m going back to the United States, where I will focus on the performances on the Epsom Tour, which is the entry point to the elite LPGA Tour,” said the 27-year-old from Portorož, who has been living in the U.S. for the past eight years.
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